1984 Volume 26 Issue 1 Pages 1-10
A comparative study between the disease activity of minimal change nephrotic syndrome (MCNS) and immunodynamics indicated by change of serum immunoglobulin (Ig) levels, and T and B lymphocyte subsets were conducted, trying to compare with those of focal glomerular sclerosis (FGS). For the analyses, monoclonal antibodies termed as OKT 3, OKT 4, and OKT 8 were used for identification of T 3 (peripheral T lymphocytes), T 4 (helper/inducer) and T 8 (suppressor/cytotoxic), respectively. B lymphocytes were classified into four subsets, i. e. Bγ, Bα, Bμ or Bε according to their own intrinsic surface Igs, which were identified using monospecif is antibodies for human γ, α, or ε heavy chain, respectively. In an active phase of MCNS, T 3 tended to decrease, while in a remitting phase induced by prednisolone therapy, T 3, T 4 were decreased and T 8 was increased significantly with a consequent reduction of T 4/T 8 ratio. However, they returned to normal range in a completely remitted phase with no necessity of therapy. As for B lymphocyte subsets and serum Igs, IgE, IgM Bγ, Bμ and Bε were increased significantly in an active phase in spite of marked reduction of serum IgG. In a remitting phase, they tended to normalize and were normalized in a remitted phase except for serum IgE and IgM, which remained at a higher level. Concerning FGS, there was no essential difference in response patterns of B lymphocytes and serum Igs from those of MCNS, while T 3 and T 4 in an active phase of FGS tended to decrease but were normalized in a remitting phase. These results suggest that acceleration of IgE and IgM producing systems and dysfunction of IgG synthetic system, which may be caused dysregulation of T lymphocyte function, were characteristics of immuneresponse in MCNS and FGS.
